Since the founding of our
university, Stevie Pointer has always
stood as an unyielding representation
of our student body and the
surrounding community and today
continues to delight the citizens of
Stevens Point.

According to the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point Archives,
Point has had multiple mascots since
its inception, though the order in
which they appeared is still up for
debate.

At one point in time, the
mischievous Mad Dog stalked the
stands of Pointer home games, but as
the story goes, he eventually fell out
of favor due to his rowdy behavior.

Stevie and Stephanie Pointer
acted as prominent local figures
to several generations of students.
However, after several decades,
Stevie ended up flying solo due to
budgetary restrictions.

Having worked at the university
for nearly two decades, Mike Okray, the current equipment room director
and strength center manager, has held
many positions on campus including
the role of mascot director.

Okray occupied the post for
over thirteen years and, during
that time, scheduled Stevie Pointer
appearances, trained new Stevie’s,
and even adorned the fabled costume
himself on a number of occasions.

“The athletic director said ‘Mike,
we need somebody to be in the
mascot suit for graduation. We had
someone to do it, but they’re not here,
and we really need someone to do it
for photos and stuff. Would you do
it?’ I said yeah, thinking ‘It isn’t hard,
you dance around and act stupid,
what more is there to it?’ Well, I found
out there’s a lot more to it than that,”
Okray said.

As Okray discovered, your
typical Stevie Pointer must regularly
overcome pitfalls that are usually
overlooked by event attendees.

“There’s hundreds and hundreds of little kids that go to graduation
to see their brother and sister and
they all want their pictures with
Stevie Pointer,” Okray said. “That’s
great, but when you’re in the suit
and you’re kneeling down, you’ve
got kids pulling on your tail, you’ve
got kids grabbing you on your head,
you’ve got kids punching you in the
face.”

An upper level UWSP student
who currently acts as Stevie Pointer
at a number of athletic events, agreed
with Okray, saying that unpredictable
and sometimes unruly fans are always
a potential job hazard.

To protect the mystique of our
university’s mascot, the student in
question has requested to remain
anonymous, and from here on will be
referred to as “Dawg.”

“The most difficult part
about being Stevie is dealing with
disrespectful fans,” Dawg said.
“There are some fans who find it
funny to hit Stevie or tackle us and it
makes the job difficult. We are people
on the inside.”

Okray also explained that as the Stevie Pointer suit is thick and heavy,
the risk of heat exhaustion is always
present, and as such, individuals only
remain in the suit for 45-60 minute
intervals before switching out with
someone else.

“It’s not as easy as it looks; it get’s
extremely warm inside,” Okray said.
“You have to wear shorts, a T-shirt,
and a bandanna to keep the sweat out
of your eyes. Physically, people don’t
realize how demanding it is.”

According to Dawg however, all
the pain pays off on game day.

“For me, the best part of being
Stevie is seeing the smile on people’s
faces. I am able to make people happy
and laugh, and no one even knows
that it is me,” Dawg said.

Again, Okray shared a similar
outlook.

“The good part about it is the kids,
and to see how excited people get
when they see the mascot, especially
the alumni; it puts a smile on a lot of
people’s faces,” Okray said.​